George Belitsos

Iowa Friends of Civil Rights presented its annual Outstanding Individual Contribution Award to George Belitsos (Honorary PhD, ‘12, Human Sciences) on July 21st, 2016. Much of his civil rights advocacy has focused on the needs of LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system along with juvenile justice reform. George retired as founder and CEO of Youth and Shelter Services (YSS) on January 1, 2016. That same month, he was elected to serve as the statewide chair of the Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking and was appointed by Governor Branstad to serve on the Iowa Commission for Tobacco Control and Prevention. At an event at Terrace Hill, the Governor and the First Lady of Iowa presented George with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his 40 years of work and contributions to the field of behavioral health. In recognition of this retirement, George received the Citizen of the Year award from the Story County Board of Supervisors and the Business Person of the Year from the Ames Chamber of Commerce. YSS had its birth on the campus of Iowa State University when George was a graduate student. When he retired, YSS had 315 employees and 26 locations in central Iowa.